


Heart of an Artist

by swagillie



Category: Amphibia (Cartoon)
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Angst and Comfort, Comforting Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Drama, Friendship, Gen, friendship and family - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:34:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22878760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swagillie/pseuds/swagillie
Summary: Read as Anne bonds more with the local town loon and how he gets accepted to be a part of her frog family.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> THIS IS MY FIRST FANFIC WOO HOO!
> 
> I have been writing this story for a few months, it took that long because of my low English vocabulary and I suck at English (not a native English speaker, so this will be fairly easy read). It took a lot of daydreaming to come up with ideas, but I hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters!
> 
> I enjoyed Wally and Anne's relationship in "Wally and Anne" so much and I want to make a fanfic series to furthermore improve their relationships. Wally is my favourite character in Amphibia because he's a wise person that doesn't care about what people think of him, which is a good counter for Anne's apprehension about her reputation both back home and Amphibia. This story will hopefully allow more people to appreciate Wally more as a character.
> 
> 2 points to not cause misunderstanding for the upcoming chapters.
> 
> • I strictly do NOT ship Anne and Wally, not only they're a different species, the age differences don't add up either.
> 
> • Wally is going to have more Uncle/Mentor relationship with Anne than a romantic relationship.
> 
> This chapter is quite short and Wally won't be present here but expect him to appear in the next chapter.

**PROLOGUE**

A day after the tragic events that's happened at the toad tower, everything seems to slowly start going back to normal. Leopold's shop and Felicia's Cafe reopened, Maddie is back to work at his father's bakery (still spooking people out), Stumpy's restaurant is loaded with starving frogs, and Mayor Toadstool is back running the town. Many frogs seem to be thankful of Mayor Toadstool for helping the frogs escape the tower even though he's a toad himself and helping them would mean he's a traitor to the toads he worked for. The frogs expressed their gratitude by sending him flowers, in which he proudly accepted and then boasted about it to everyone, calling himself a "hero that everyone doesn't deserve but a hero they needed" everywhere he goes, he even thinks of using it as a way to boost his next champaign.

Everyone is already back at doing what they usually do in their daily life... except for Anne.

The 13 years old, Thai-American human girl, _still feeling horrible for leaving Sasha with the dangerous toads_ , locked herself inside of the Plantar's home and didn't leave it for days. The Plantars were honestly worried about her because she rejected their offer to go outside all the time and preferred staying inside the house. She would spend most of her days in her room playing her phones unless she's eating with her family or going to the bathroom. Hop Pop, as her honorary grandfather, took the responsibility in taking care of her. He didn't give her any chores work to do because it's too overwhelming for her right now. He instead makes her favourite pillbug pancakes once in a while if she's hungry. He also often checks up on her asking if she's alright and offered to talk to her, even if he has to abandon his farm job, his grand-daughter is way more important to him. Anne however, refused to talk to Hop Pop or even Sprig and Polly because Anne rathered shut her mouth and avoid talking about what happened because it might make her feel even worse. She already caused too many troubles to her family that she doesn't want to burden them more with her own personal problems that they don't have to get involved in.

Sprig wanted to go back adventuring with Anne, however, Hop Pop kept telling him to be more patient. Sprig ended up wandering around the town by himself.

Every night, her mind still wanders around Sasha, wondering how she's doing far away.

_The last time Anne saw her was before Grime took her into a shelter, she was in a bad shape and probably passed out from shock. Grime gave her a vengeful glare after seeing her condition, hinting he might come back anytime soon for revenge._

Anne scrolled through her phone's gallery and found pictures she took with Sasha on her 13th birthday, they both looked happy although deep inside, Anne wasn't, she was the whole reason why they were transported here in the first place. But despite everything that she's done, Anne doesn't have it in her to hate Sasha COMPLETELY, no matter how wrong she was. Parts of herself felt thankful for being transported into this magical world because she wouldn't have met amazing people like the Plantars, and she wouldn't have realized that Sasha was a bad influence on her.

Anne became sleep-deprived as she continues overthinking at night as she lost many hours of sleep, soon enough small eyebags started forming underneath her eyes, which worried Hop Pop even more.

* * *

Eventually, the town people, _even the mayor,_ began to notice her absence as everyone in Wartwood was talking about her whereabouts. They decided to pay a visit to the Plantar's home to send their letters or a gift as a way of appreciation and encouragement for Anne. Stumpy also cooks for Anne occasionally, in the morning he'll cook the special Thai-insects fusion dishes that Anne taught him and delivers it to the Plantars.

Anne almost cried from what was written in the letters, a lot of "We miss you"s, words of encouragement and wishes for her fast recovery. She also began to enjoy and appreciate Stumpy's cooking more than ever. Everything the town did makes Anne more hopeful that her lives will get better from here on as the town will and always support her.

At last, the Thai-American girl feels she's ready to go back adventuring and doing her usual activities with her friends and family.

Although Hop Pop hesitated at first, Anne wanted him to give her chores and work to do. Hop Pop reluctantly agreed, he started by only giving Anne light chores such as cleaning the dishes to not put too much on her plate at once.

Sprig was joyful when Anne told him she wants to do something together like old times. Then they had a lot of fun afterwards, like when they unintentionally provoked Harold the giant, multi-headed mole after accidentally bopping one of his little buddies, watching movies together with her frog family, going on scenic routes and even being launched with a giant cattail. Those were the most fun thing Anne did with her family since she's locked herself in. She admitted she missed the feeling of heart-racing and excitement from the misadventures and troubles that she and Sprig caused in the past, it's good to be back.

The Plantars promised her that they'll do whatever they can to get her home; _despite Hop Pop still being secretive about the music box_ , however, she knew home is still a long way to go. She doesn't mind staying longer here as long as she got her family and the rest of Wartwood by her side. After all, Amphibia feels like her home too.


	2. Comfort in the Loon's Embrace

It's early in the morning; unfortunately, Hop Pop's feeling unwell after working a few days on his farm, he can barely move his legs now. He tried standing up, but his legs betrayed him, which made him fall back to his bed. He sighed because he was supposed to sell crops at his vegetable stand today. He then called the kids despite his sore throat.

"Kids..! Kids..!" called Hop Pop with his raspy voice, there was no response. Hop Pop called out again, "KIDS!" shouted Hop Pop as powerful as he could, but it resulted in a violent cough. Thankfully Anne, Sprig, and Polly could hear him as they lazily walked out from their respective rooms and to inside Hop Pop's room.

"Yes, Hop Pop..?" said the kids in unison, still in their pajamas. They then saw Hop Pop's old, sick face.

"Uh... Hop Pop, you okay?" asked Sprig with a yawn.

"Do I look okay to you, boy?" said Hop Pop with an annoyed look.

Sprig shrugged, "well, I dunno, you kinda look like that every time you wake up, to be honest."

Hop Pop groaned at that comment but decided to brush it off.

"Okay, as I was gonna say, you kids need to help me out with our vegetable stand today because, as you can see, I'm not feeling well-" Hop Pop violently coughed again.

Sprig groaned, "Ugh, now? Do we have to? It's still pretty early-"

"Sprig, the crops are harvested for a few days already, if we don't sell em' soon they're all going to spoil, and we have to plant them again! So stop your complaining and help your Hop Pop out!'

Sprig sighed, "Fine.. but who's going to take care of you? We can't just leave you here without anyone keeping an eye on you."

"I WILL!" shouted Polly as she took out a flail weapon out of nowhere, "I WILL BE HOP POP'S PROTECTOR!" said Polly as she swung her weapon around with ease but accidentally hit the wall with it, resulting in a crack.

"Oops."

Hop Pop sighed, "I have Polly to watch over me, so you two should go on ahead."

"Eh.. nevermind. I got nothing left to argue, let's just go, Anne."

"Right behind ya, dude," said Anne as she followed Sprig from behind.

"One more thing, you two," said Hop Pop all of a sudden, making Anne and Sprig freeze.

"Please, you two better not get yourselves OR all of us in trouble like you always do, especially when I'm not there to watch both of ya, I'll cook you two in my stew for dinner tonight if you do get us in trouble!" warned Hop Pop sternly.

"Okaaaaay Hop Pop.." said both Sprig and Anne as they headed out from his room.

"Eh, I'd rather be cooked in a pizza than having to cover myself in Hop Pop's terrible stew," whispered Anne as they both giggled quietly.

"But he's got a point, we had fun, but it's time to get back to work."

Anne responded with a hum.

After finished showering and dressing up, they both left the house and to their farm to bring all the crops they harvested a few days ago on a wagon. Then they both pulled it to the market.

As everyone in the market was busy setting everything up, Sprig and Anne did the same. They both were pretty early, so they still have plenty of time to get everything done. They started placing the crops where Hop Pop usually put them and discussed how they would try to get customers to buy their vegetables.

...

After some time passed by, the market is finally open. Customers started crowding up as Sprig and Anne opened their stand. Sprig wanted to try getting people's attention, so he came up with something to shout, "FRESH VEGETABLES! FRESH VEGETABLES! GET THEM BEFORE THEY ROT!" yelled Sprig too literally, which caused Anne to facepalm.

"Sprig, you're not gonna attract anyone if you tell them these vegetables will rot soon," complained Anne.

"Hmm.. you're right.." Sprig thought to himself for a second, "then how about this... FRESH VEGETABLES! FRESH VEGETABLES! BUY OUR VEGETABLES TO HELP OUR SICK HOP POP!"

Anne groaned, "ugh, whatever,"

Sprig's promoting method works somehow, which surprises Anne as Wartwood villagers felt bad for Hop Pop; they bought his vegetables to show that they care about him and wish him a fast recovery.

Strangely after a few hours, the market is more crowded than usual because there were not local villagers from Wartwood present; there were others as well.

* * *

**_Apparently, Duckweed had published the news of the toad tower incident across the whole valley. He_ ** **_stated about how a human defended the frogs from the toads for almost executing Hopadiah Plantar, who caused a revolution against the toads across the valley._ **

**_He also stated that the toad tower was destroyed because of Wally's unconsented attempt to blow up the tower_ ** **_. It is unknown where the toads went now and whether they will come back for revenge or not._ **

**_The other villagers then decided to give Wartwood a visit because they were intrigued to see the "human" creature that has been residing in Wartwood._ **

* * *

Anne was sweating so much at this point, and her arms were getting cramped. She wiped the sweat off her face as she handed Mrs. Croaker her purchase.

"Thanks for the purchase, Mrs. Croaker!" said Anne, waving at the old widow as she left.

"You're welcome, sweetie, tell your dearie Hop Pop to feel better soon!" said the old widow.

"Will do, Mrs. Croaker!" replied Sprig. As Mrs. Croaker left, Anne sat behind the counter.

"Man, this market is so dang crowded, pretty sure we got more customers than usual," she reached out to her bag to drink some water.

Sprig hummed in response, "Maybe they bought our vegetables to overthrow Mayor Toadstool if he goes corrupt again, it's funny how the town likes to throw vegetables at him."

"Pfft, yeah," said Anne, giggling. Right at that moment, Anne sees many unfamiliar frogs were eyeing her as they whispered to one another, which made her uneasy. She then turns to Sprig again, "Hey, Sprig, do you notice that there are some people you've never seen before here? They kept on gazing at me," Anne gave a small turn in her head, directing at the latter frogs to give him a hint.

"Yeah, I noticed that too,"

"I wonder what they want from me."

"Those guys are probably just wondering what creature are you."

"I guess.." said Anne nervously.

"Don't worry about it, Anne, they don't look dangerous. Just look on the bright side! We sold many of our vegetables, I'm sure Hop Pop's going to be happy after he knows that we did a great job today!" said Sprig, offering a high five.

Anne returned the high five before she saw another wave of customers began lining up in front of the Plantar's stand.

"Oh my.. more people."

"Ugh.." grunted Anne frustratingly.

Seeing the frustration on her face, Sprig quickly responded, "No, no, Anne, it's okay. You can relax, you worked hard today, and you look burnt out," said Sprig, worried that all this work might stress her.

Anne raised her eyebrows, "You sure, dude? I don't want to put all the responsibility on you-"

"I insist, Anne! I can handle this myself, don't you worry!" assured Sprig as he gave a thumbs up and a wink.

"Well... I think I could use a break, thanks so much, bud, I think I'll get some more fresh air, find me if you need anything. I'll be around here," said Anne before stretching herself.

"Okay, but don't get in trouble like we usually do or Hop Pop is gonna cook us in his stew for dinner tonight!" said Sprig, mimicking Hop Pop's voice, Anne tried to hold her laugh as she leaves the area.

_Unbeknownst to her that Sprig was calling her from afar for emergency help as soon as she left,_

_"Anne! Anne! I changed my mind! I definitely can't handle this myself, there are too many people! Help me!"_

_Anne was unable to hear him because of the crowd._

As Anne was strolling around the market, many frogs greeted Anne as she passed by their stands. Anne gladly greeted them back, she's still in awe because she knew she's no longer the monster who was feared by everyone once.

She hummed a tune to herself as she walks away from the market towards the center of the town.

* * *

Anne decided to chill at the town's fountain as she inhaled the fresh air of Wartwood. It was peaceful and quiet, perfect for some meditation to ease her mind. Anne breathed in and breathed out deeply as soon as she closed her eyes and began to ponder everything she went through.. her choices. Her adventures.. her friends.. her family.. how she became from being a town monster to a town hero and how she viewed herself now as a whole different person than before she came here.

...

Her pondering didn't last long as soon as she heard a distant sound of someone singing and playing the accordion. She turned around to see a familiar one-eyed frog playing his accordion and singing to a song.

Anne was delighted to finally see him again, Wally's another frog that Anne calls her good friend because he tends to act as Anne's voice of wisdom. Anne decided to call him from afar.

"Wally! Hey!" called Anne.

The loon glanced around before noticing Anne by the fountain, waving at him.

"Anne?!" said the one-eyed frog excitedly as he runs to his human friend. He took a seat next to Anne as they give each other a brief hug.

"It's been a while since I've seen you, huh?"

"Well, I just didn't feel like going outside," said Anne, nervously smiling.

Wally eyed Anne skeptically and raised his eye as soon as he saw the eyebags in her eyes, "were you not having a good sleep lately? Because you don't look like you had enough sleep either,"

Anne clenched her hand and gulped visibly, "It's just human stuff I'm going through, you wouldn't understand it,"

"Love," said Wally sternly, "I understand, you don't have to lie to me about it,"

Anne's smile finally broke as she looked at the ground gloomily. Wally then looks at her thoughtfully.

"Hey.. just be honest with me, you're still worried about the friend you left there, right?"

Anne nodded her head.

"There's nothing wrong with that. We would feel the same way as you as we frogs feel emotions like humans do, too, you know?"

Anne only responded with a nod again.

"Did you talk about it with the Plantars?"

Anne finally spoke up, "No.. I just.. Can't. I don't want them to worry about me, I already caused too much trouble to them, and it would just burden them more to get them involved with my personal problems,"

Wally shook his head, "well, even if that's because you care about them, they're still your family. They deserve to help even if they can't do much, they'll always be the first people you can rely on."

After hearing that coming from her friend, Anne pondered to herself for a moment and sighed sadly, "You're right.. I shouldn't have kept this to myself, it made me feel like I was spacing away from them.. gosh, I'm sorry Hop Pop," said Anne under her breath.

"I think we all can find it hard to talk about it, especially to the ones you love, but it doesn't hurt to give it a shot. If anything, you're supposed to feel lucky to be taken care of by them.. they'll always listen and help a family member out, whether they're a frog or a human,"

Anne nodded in agreement, "I'll try.. I'll apologize to Hop Pop, he's been worried sick about me ever since I lost my sleeping schedule."

Wally nodded his head with a smile, "I've actually been wanting to talk to you the moment I notice you weren't anywhere to be seen around Wartwood. I saw other frogs going to your house, so I tried doing that myself, but your Hop Pop wouldn't allow me to see you."

"Really? Why's that?"

Wally scratched his head, "I guess it's because I was the reason the tower was destroyed in the first place. He might've been afraid if I'd bring those boom-shrooms again to your house and explode it to pieces, I DIDN'T! I PROMISE!"

Anne grimaced visibly, "That reminds me, how and why did you have those boom-shrooms with you when we were at the tower? Did you intend to destroy the tower from the start? Just asking."

Wally shook his head slightly, "I brought it secretly because I had a feeling the toads were behaving uncharacteristically nice to us. I ended up using them after we found out their real intention."

"Well, that makes sense."

Wally then stared at the ground, "although part of me wished I hadn't.. because of me, we had to leave your friend, I risked everyone's lives, and your friend's probably badly injured! I was also the reason you're not okay... I- I'm..", Wally looked at her sadly, " I'm sorry for not listening to you, Love."

Anne put her left hand on Wally's shoulder and shook her head, "No, don't be. Those shrooms helped saving Hop Pop from almost being fed to.. that thing... That's why I was supposed to thank you, Wally, if it weren't for you, Hop Pop would've.." Anne's words got retorted on her throat.

Wally sighed, "Yeah... Hopadiah Plantar didn't deserve to die because of politics."

She hummed in response, "But you know what else surprises me? The fact that I still hope my friend is alright without me..."

"Do you still care about her after what she's done to you?"

Anne was a bit unsure of what to answer, "I don't know honestly.. yeah she's manipulative and emotionally abusive to me, she pushed me to get what she wanted, and heck, she even FORCED me to do something I didn't want to. But I-, I can't hate her.. because she's still my friend."

Wally found it impressive that Anne managed to still care about someone as horrible as Sasha, he worriedly looked at her, "She's not a good influence for you, Love, I hope you know that by now."

Anne nodded her head sadly, "I figured... Sprig stood up for me, and that's when I realize she's wrong."

"You didn't deserve to be treated like that.. but whatever happened between you two back then, I hope she's a better person, and you two could be in better terms the next time both of you meet."

"Yeah.. me too."

As Anne thought she's finally calmed down, she came across a horrific realization that made her uneasy again.

"But what about you?!" blurted Anne in distress as she held his shoulders, which startled Wally.

"W-what about me?"

"What'll happen to you?!" wailed Anne anxiously, "The toads probably already know you're the reason why the tower's destroyed. They already planned on executing Hop Pop, but now they might plan to get you too for messing up their plan! I don't want anything to happen to you both.." Anne buried her face in her hands and shook her head frustratingly.

Wally took both of her hands gently to calm her down.

"Hey, I might have become a fugitive to them now, but that doesn't mean what I did was wrong like you said, right? Why do I have to be afraid for doing what's right for the sake of your Hop Pop?" explained Wally, however, Anne doesn't look entirely convinced yet as she looked at the ground in fear. He then held her hands tighter, which caused Anne to look at him.

"Listen, Love, we got the whole town by our side, don't we? Those toads won't ever put their hands on me... OR Hopadiah! Although.. even if they managed to get me... heh, at least I did what has to be done."

Hearing that only makes Anne sob some tears, "I'm just afraid... I'm afraid of losing the people I care about... I lost Sasha now, and the pain of losing her was painful enough to make me depressed for a whole week. I don't want the toads to take away the people I loved again.."

"I.. I understand," said Wally, patting her back soothingly, "but why were you worried about my safety too, Love? I'm just a loon, no one would care if I get caught or not,"

"No.. the truth is.. I care about you more than what you think, Wally.."

Wally's eyes widened and stopped patting her back as he suddenly feels some warmth in his chest that he hasn't felt for so long despite being cold-blooded.

"I don't want you to die because of something you did. I care about you because you're honestly the only person in my life other than my family that understands me so well, I could never find anyone else to replace you,"

More tears flowed down Anne's cheek as she gave out a small cough, Wally started crying some tears himself as he feels sorry for her. The next thing Anne knew was seeing the one-eyed frog wrapping his arms around her tightly, which surprised her so much.

"You won't have to then, my sweetheart... I promise I'll always be with you no matter where you are."

Formerly, she would be uncomfortable around Wally's weird antics, but now Anne did not hesitate to hug back the loon as he allowed her to cry in his embrace. Still fearing to lose him and the people she loved, she hugged him tighter. It would be a pretty odd sight to see if anyone's watching, but Anne doesn't care.

"Everything will be alright." comforted Wally repeatedly while stroking her back gently.

Crying out to like this seems to have lifted the weights that Anne has been carrying all by herself. Wally was willing to listen and understand her problems, which is something that she couldn't ever do with her friends at home. She's even more sure to herself that she's made the right decision to stand up against Sasha because Anne has found betters friends to be with.

...

Some moments have passed, Anne's cries seem to have quieted down, but they seem to be incapable of letting each other go as they were already so comfortable in each other's embrace, and Wally hasn't said anything yet either.

Eventually, they have to slowly part from each other's hug. Both of them sat together, staring at the distance in silence for a few minutes, then Wally glanced at Anne's face again, he saw Anne has finally stopped crying.

"You feeling better, Love?" asked Wally.

"Mhm.. yeah, definitely."

"Phew... I'm glad to hear it."

"Yeah.. sorry for letting it all out on you," said Anne while scratching her head.

"No worries, you're always welcome to come to me again if you feel uneasy or need to let it out,"

"Mhm.. thanks... but I think it's best for us to not talk about it for now... I don't want to feel down anymore,"

"Yeah, I agree. I prefer seeing our usual happy and cheerful Anne, you're a strong girl and our hero, Love! You can get through this! Come on, let's see those smiles!"

Anne then finally gave him her genuine smile for the first time since she's locked herself in the Plantar's home.

"That's my girl, there you go!" cheered Wally, stroking Anne's hair happily.

Anne gave out a chuckle, "Thanks, Wally. For everything just now because I needed that. You're really the best."

"Don't mention it, Love, this old loon will always look after you!"

The two friends looked at each other and smiled happily, there were no signs of hatred or disgust in their looks like they had before.

Wally decided to change the topic because he knew Anne wouldn't want the matter to be brought up again.

"So.. now's probably a good time to ask what are you doing all alone here out of all places in Wartwood?"

Anne has forgotten the reason she was at the fountain for a second.

"Oh yeah..! I was working at the market with Sprig because Hop Pop wasn't feeling well today. I was pretty burnt out after working for hours... so I came here to relax. I left Sprig in charge there.. although to be honest I'm not quite sure how he's holding up right now," mumbled Anne to herself at that last sentence.

"Oh, I see."

Anne looked up to see that some frogs began to start returning from the market.

"Hey, you wanna go out somewhere? I'm bored just sitting here."

"Hmm.. what about the "not associating with me ever again" after we went hunting for the Mossman?" teased Wally while making a sarcastic thinking gesture.

Anne reddened in embarrassment, _"Well, uh... I don't.. ummm.."_

Wally smiled wickedly as Anne was stammering to herself. He then burst into laughter and smacked his legs.

"Yeah, I'm just kidding, Love! Of course, I'd love to!"

"You little goofball-" said Anne, as she pulled Wally with her elbow and took his hat off and messed around his gorgeous long hair.

"I'm sorry, please spare me!" said Wally, squirming and laughing from her firm grip.

She giggled as she released her hold, Wally breathed a sigh of relief and fixed his hair. Then he puts on his hat back.

Wally then sighed deeply, "I'm just kinda wondering about what you said earlier."

"What about?"

"Do you really mean it when you said you cared about me than what I think?"

"Well.. yeah. Why'd you ask?"

Wally held his left elbow, idly, "It's just... I never thought that anyone would do such a thing, especially with me. I'm already used to being called the town weirdo and a laughing stock, but I never thought there was someone out there actually care about this loon. You said before that you didn't want to associate with me, what's the change of heart?"

"Well, to be honest, back then before we went out hunting for the moss man, I never thought a crazy guy like you were such a nice guy to be with, which is why I consider you a good friend of mine since I know you better now."

Touched by her response, he laid his head on her shoulder, "Me too," told Wally.

"Sorry for treating and calling you a deadbeat before, Wally, I shouldn't have judged a book by its cover,"

"It's alright, Love. I'm just glad we can still call each other friends."

"Weirdos together, am I right?"

Wally proudly looked at her and nodded, "always," said Wally underneath his breath.

Anne gave a warm smile, "So.. should we get going?" said Anne excitedly.

Wally lifted his head from her shoulder and responded enthusiastically, "Heh, of course, I'd be more than happy to!"

Wally gave a pat to her head once more before standing up on the ground and offered a hand to Anne so she could stand up as well.

"So, where do you wanna go, Love?"

Anne pondered to herself for a while, "Hmm, let's see... Wanna get something from the store?"

"Anywhere is fine for me, but I think you need to tell your little friend first that you're hanging out with me, don't want him to freak out over your whereabouts, yeah?"

"Right, let's go meet Sprig first then," said Anne as they both walk together towards the market.

* * *

**To be continued..**


	3. Past Regrets

* * *

As Anne and Wally stepped their feet on the farmer's market once again, Anne noticed that there were lesser people around and that the stands are starting to close down. Anne also realized that Sprig was nowhere to be found near the Plantar's stand, the vegetables seem to be missing too. "Where'd Sprig go? Sprig? Sprig?" called Anne while searching all parts of the stand.

Wally then found some sort of note left on the Plantar's stand's table and took it, "Look! I think your friend left a note!"

"What does it say?"

"Umm- I'm not able to read, Love."

"Oh, right.. then give it to me."

Wally handed Anne the note, then she quickly read what Sprig has written in the letter. It seems that the letter was written in a hurry as it was a bit hard to read but Anne managed to decipher it:

* * *

**Hey Anne,**

**I had some trouble handling the stand alone so I went around to look for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere. I'm thinking that you might've gone home already but I wrote this letter just in case you're looking for me.**

**Long story short, I ran into Felicia earlier, who apparently needed help with her shop and of course, I can't say no to her. Don't worry about our stand, Felicia bought all our remaining vegetables so that I can assist her today, which means we earned A LOT! I'm excited to see Hop Pop's reaction when he sees our work today! So if you wanna find me, you know where to go! Catch ya later, Anne!**

**Your best friend, Sprig**

* * *

Anne then puts away the letter, "Well, Sprig's helping Felicia out with her tea shop, we can visit him after we go to the store."

"Are you sure you don't want to visit him first?"

"He'll be fine, c'mon."

"Alright, then."

* * *

The market isn't the only place the villagers visited, other stores like Felicia's tea shop is packed with hungry customers too, mostly because of her Dung Beetle Scones. Her scones are said to be one of the best scones tasted according to the villagers, plus with the help of the vegetables she bought from the Sprig, she could add extra ingredients on the food.

Felicia was supposed to have Ivy to help her but Ivy was away at that moment, so Sprig helped her out running the tea shop. He helped serving the scones and teas and cleaning the tables while Felicia prepares the scones and wash dishes.

Many people had to wait in line just to get their seat because of how crowded it is. Nevertheless, they leave the cafe satisfied and with a happy stomach. After many working hours, the number of customers slowly decreases.

"Phew, today is a busy day. Thank you for helping me, Sprig! All my customers were really satisfied thanks to you, I hope you're not in trouble for helping me today." said Felicia from the kitchen as she walked towards Sprig, who is cleaning a finished table.

"Not at all, Felicia! Besides I can't refuse to help my future mother-in-law!"

Felicia giggled and gave Sprig a pinch in the cheek, "you're so sweet, Sprig"

As Felicia was about to return to go to her cashier, Sprig's stomach rumbled loudly around the room.

"Oh, dearie! Sprig, are you hungry? You should've told me!"

"Oh no no no, I can probably eat at home, Hop Pop's probably cooking... I think."

Felicia cringed a bit when Sprig mentioned Hop Pop's cooking, she then went to the kitchen and fetched some more freshly-cooked scones, the smell that Sprig couldn't resist. Sprig admitted he felt more hungry than ever as she placed it down on the table.

"Well, you don't have to poison yourself by eating that my dear, just sit down and feast on this instead. No payment, just take it from me as my thanks for helping me today," said Felicia politely.

Sprig then took a seat with the delicious-smelling scones served in front of him, waiting to be devoured, "well, if you insist! I'll eat the right now!"

Sprig immediately shoved all the scones and chewed it thoroughly. Sprig then swallowed them all and gave a small burp with a hiccup following afterwards.

"Slowly, Sprig, you're gonna get hiccups if you eat too fast," Felicia then retrieves her teapot and teacup from the kitchen and poured the warm tea carefully. Sprig then quickly drank the warm tea to calm the hiccup down. Sprig sighed, "phew, I'm stuffed, thanks for the scones, Felicia."

"No problem," said Felicia before walking into her cashier to count the money she earned today. Meanwhile, Sprig chilled idly in his chair while humming a tune to himself.

...

It seems that Sprig's job is done for today because Felicia found out she ran out of ingredients to bake the scones and decided to close the cafe for the day. She walked Sprig out her cafe, "once again, thank you for helping me today, Sprig," thanked Felicia.

"No problem, Felicia! I think I'm gonna head home now,"

"Before you go can I ask for a favor?"

"What kind of favor?"

"Well, are you free tomorrow? I would appreciate if you could help me find some dung beetles for my scones with Ivy tomorrow since I know you two are official now.." said Felicia with a wink. Sprig immediately went red and embarrassed, Sprig and Ivy both know they have mutual feelings towards each other but neither of them has really spent time together since the frog of the year party, so this would be a chance for him to get to spend time with her.

"Umm.. hello? Sprig, are you okay?" asked Felicia, to the frozen body of Sprig, while waving in front of his face. He then snapped himself to reality while sweating profusely.

"Oh, um... Yeah, of course.. sure, I'll go with Ivy," stammered Sprig.

Felicia gave a small giggle before planting a kiss on his forehead and patted his head, "I'll see you tomorrow then, Sprig, thank you so much!" said Felicia, waving before going back inside.

Sprig awkwardly walked away and waved back at her, "yeah, bye..!" said Sprig before storming off happily and fast like he's about to scream on top of his lungs and let the world knows how happy he is.

* * *

Anne and Wally finally reached the Grub N' Go store after walking from the market. As soon as they entered, some customers gave Anne a confused look as they saw Wally walking with her. Some frogs pass by them to find their respective needs with their shopping car in tow.

"What are we exactly buying, Love? I don't have much money to buy many or expensive things," asked Wally as they both wander around aimlessly.

"I'm still thinking..." Anne pondered to herself for a moment before an idea came into her head, "Wait! I think I know something we both might like!"

"What would that be?"

"Follow me!" said Anne, walking quickly around the isles and shelves with Wally following suit. Anne was heading towards the snack section where she finally found what she wanted.

"There it is!" said Anne pointing at the beetle jerky. Unfortunately, it was the last bag in stock.

"Aw really? Only one left? Oh well, we could always share, right?" said Anne as she grabbed the bag.

Wally's expression suddenly changed to those of regrets as he just stares at the jerky bag. Anne quickly noticed this and called him out, "uh, Wally? You okay dude?"

Wally sighed before sitting in front of the shelves, he then folded his knees and crossed his arms, "Remember that time when we still treated you like the town beast?"

Anne nodded her head as she immediately understood, she then took a seat next to him.

"This beetle jerky reminded me of when we despised you so much that we treated you like a bunch of jerks," said Wally before continuing, "and I clearly remembered taking away this beetle jerky you wanted and I laughed at you when you slipped, called you scarecrows, how many stuffs have I done wrong to such a good kid like you? I.. I feel like I acted even worse than a monster..."

"No, Wally..." said Anne, putting her hand on his shoulder, "I know you guys treated me crummy because you guys didn't trust me back then. I remembered you saying that you're afraid I might end up going nuts and eat you guys one day, right?"

Wally gave a small nod as Anne nodded to herself, "I guess that's understandable, although I admit I desperately wanted you guys to be nicer to me because I felt like an outcast as you guys still treated me like that... I just wanted some respect and gain your trust."

Wally puts his hand on her face stroked her cheek with his thumb gently and smiled at her, "well, you already got our respect now, Love, don't ya? I trust you now. You showed us frogs that a creature like you can have a kindness, bravery, and goodness in their heart, unlike any other beasts from the woods that we know of. We were wrong about you from the start, you DO belong with us and... I'm sorry for not giving you a chance to prove you're not a beast and you had to get injured because of those pesky tax collectors "

Anne responded with an assuring smile, "well, It's all in the past, so no hard feelings anymore, dude."

Wally nodded and then proceeded to play with his iconic hat idly. They both were silent for a couple of minutes before Wally starts talking again, "y'know I still regret missing the chance to befriend you when I saw you the first time."

"Well, if you didn't ran off screaming when I was just asking for help we would've clicked off before I meet Sprig. You were the first person to ever find me here."

"Yeah, I know... I got so scared for my dear life when I saw you because I've never seen a creature like you in my life, I've never seen such weird anatomy and that bump in the middle of your face-"

"It's called nose," said Anne, pointing at her nose.

"Oh-" Wally scratched his hair awkwardly, "but my point was I really thought you're about to eat me alive so I called out for help and led a riot to hunt you down..."

"I admit that was kinda rough, dude," said Anne.

Wally then sighed and laid his hat on his lap, "I guess that's why people hate me, huh? I always acted over-dramatic that people find it hard to interact with me or take me seriously, I am just a delusional loon. I'm sorry, Anne, I understand if you can't forgive me."

Wally was about to shed a single tear before Anne pulled him onto her lap and hugged him like her plush doll, which caused his hat to slide off to his side.

"What makes you think I won't forgive you?"

"I did you wrong a lot of times! I was rude and selfish that I was blinded to not know the real you! Someone like me doesn't deserve someone as kind as you."

"Well, it makes both of us right?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Remember, I called you a local deadbeat and I didn't think too highly of you because of how mean and not to mention, _weird,_ you acted towards me but look at us now! I was wrong about you too, because behind your weird-ness lies a frog with an incredibly good and understanding heart. You helped me understand that other people's opinions don't matter. So I have no reason to not forgive you because you're one of the **real** best friends that I have in my life. All mistakes were forgiven, so you don't have to apologize again."

Wally was filled with overwhelming emotions and started tearing up again, "I.. I don't know what to say, but thanks, Love," said Wally in the middle of his tears, "you just keep making this loon fall more and more for you."

Anne laughed softly and hugged the loon tighter. She even wiped the tears from his one eye. Wally patted her arms that were wrapped around him, "you really are one of a kind. I wish people were as nice as you were to me."

"Why? What do you mean?"

"Well, you see, I don't have actual friends since I was little. Like I said a while ago, I was so used to people calling me names and a weirdo that I don't know how it feels to be called a friend or even a BEST friend. You're one of the only people in my life that treats a loon like me just like everyone else-"

" **Ahem!** Excuse me?"

A female voice abruptly interrupted Anne and Wally's moment as they peered over to the side and saw a female frog standing next to them with her arms crossed and her shopping cart next to her. Apparently, some frogs have been watching them the whole time, the embarrassing atmosphere caused Anne to loosen her embrace with Wally immediately.

"If you weirdos are going to nuzzle and be cuddly, do it somewhere else, JEEZ! This is the public! Have some decency, buncha freaks!" scolded the female frog as she grabbed her shopping cart and walked away angrily from them.

Some frogs that overheard the scolding simply shook their heads and walked away too, leaving the two friends alone. Wally immediately looked at Anne to check if that lady's word hurt her feelings. Thankfully, they didn't. Anne simply gave a smirk and shrugged, with Wally breathing a sigh of relief.

"Well, enough with crying for now because that lady got a point, we can't stay too long here. Let's go pay for this jerky so we don't attract too much attention again," told Wally as he grabbed his hat and walked towards the cashier. Anne snatched the bag from the floor and followed suit.

Loggle the axolotl was at the cashier currently, busy dealing with the customer's payment. There is unfortunately only one cashier so they had to wait in line for the people in front of them to clear up.

Once the duo finally got in front of the cashier, the axolotl greeted the human girl.

"Oh, hello, Anne, it's been a while, hope you're alright now."

"Hey, Loggle, and yeah, I am, thanks! You're not working at your woodshop?"

Loggle shook his head timidly, "well, wood's business is not going so well despite the increase of outsiders visiting Wartwood, I guess people aren't as interested in wood as me... so I decided to work here instead." said Loggle sheepishly.

"Okay I guess.."

Loggle was shocked when he noticed Wally standing beside Anne, "Oh! I didn't see you here, Wally, hello."

"Hello, old man."

Leopold then glanced around Anne to look for Sprig since he's always with her but this does not seem to be the case right now, "I'm surprised you aren't with that frog child, you two having a quarrel?" asked Leopold curiously.

"Oh no no, he's helping Felicia with her tea shop, I'm going to visit him after this."

"Ah, I see," told Leopold, "what's your business being with Wally though?"

"Ah, we're just spending some time together, amirite?" Anne nudged Wally with her shoulders, Wally replied with a nod and a smile.

"Wow, I didn't know you two were close as well," said Leopold, while adjusting his glasses, he then whispered to Anne as soft as possible, _"did you hit your human head or something?"_

_"No, I didn't and don't even ask,"_ replied Anne. Loggle nodded and decided to shrug it off and went back to business, "so, what can I help you two today?"

"Oh, just gonna buy this bag of jerky for the both of us, is that okay?"

Leopold held one of his fingers up, "Absolutelyyyy..."

Anne was expecting a negative word in the end but it didn't come to that, fortunately, "and you're lucky because this is our last stock until next week! Anyways it would be just 5 coppers."

"5 coppers it is," As Anne was about to reach for her money bag, Wally beat her to it and gave Loggle the 5 coppers, which surprises Loggle greatly, "wow, you're really paying for her?"

"Uh-huh. Got any problem with that, old man?" asked Wally bitterly.

"Of course.." Wally was about to say something before Loggle finished his sentence, "not. Well, here you two go." said Loggle, handing the jerky to Wally.

"Thank you, have a nice day, Loggle." said Anne.

"Likewise."

As Wally and Anne left the blue axolotl alone, Loggle shook his head.

_"Be careful, Anne,"_ said Loggle to himself. He then carried on with the next customer.

...

The duo then walked towards the exit and decided to sit at the public bench near the store, "Hey, dude, you know I can use some of the money Hop Pop gave me to pay for this, right? Besides, this isn't expensive," said Anne.

"No, think of it as my apology for taking your jerky away last time."

"Aww.. you don't have to, but thanks."

"Here you go, take as many as you like!" Wally opened the beetle jerky and handed it to Anne.

"Alright, thanks!" said Anne, popping some beetles into her mouth. Anne's eyes began watering as her mouth was in an intense battle with the delicious and crunchy beetles, "s-sho goooood," mumbled Anne. After a minute passed, Anne realized that she has been eating alone as Wally hadn't eaten a single beetle at all.

"Why aren't you taking any?"

"I bought it for you, Love, it's all yours."

"What? No! You have to eat some too and as your _friend_ , I command you to eat!"

"Love, you obviously need it more than me-"

Anne ignored him as she grabbed the bag from Wally and took some beetles from the bag and handed it to Wally. He was hesitating until Anne glared at him which Wally assumed meant: **"take it yourself before I shove it in your mouth myself."**

Wally then visibly gulped and nervously laughed, "fine, fine." Wally accepted the offer as he also fears for his safety. Wally took the beetles from Anne and eat it himself.

Anne's expression suddenly changed to a smirk, "Good." said Anne, satisfied. They both then continued eating the snacks together in silence while watching the busy town of Wartwood.

Anne seems to have no more problem eating bugs anymore after residing in Wartwood for a long time, and even she doesn't know how she'll end up at home. She might have bug dishes as her school lunch instead.

After finishing the last beetle, Wally tossed the bag away.

"That was amazing," said Anne while nipping her fingers for the leftover crumbs.

Wally nodded, "Mhm, and I'm amazed you're used to eating bugs now. I heard you were freaking out over them whenever you had to eat one."

"Ugh.. yeah," Anne cringed a bit remembering the first time she was forced to eat Hop Pop's cooking which has bugs in it, "they were disgusting to eat, to be honest, but I guess I got used to it because I wanna live and not starve to death here."

"Then how about frogs? You wouldn't ever get hungry again if you eat us instead," teased Wally.

"Jeez, you frogs are so morbid."

Wally gave out a loud chuckle, "I'm just joking, Love. Being eaten alive is just a common occurrence here,"

Anne looked at Wally with a mischievous smirk, " **then** **maybe I** **should give it a try,** " said Anne as she jokingly pinned Wally on the ground.

"GAAH- DON'T EAT ME!" screamed Wally as he covered his head with his hand in fear.

Anne laughed at his reaction. She then helped him to get back on the bench and patted his back to calm him down, he was breathing quite quickly.

"You get scared easily, don't you?" asked Anne.

"Yeah.. you could say that. You have to forgive me for my cowardly behavior, this world is so dangerous and deadly that I can't help to be scared of many things."

"I lived here long enough to understand that, I feel like I couldn't live here for a day without bumping into some giant monsters. But don't worry, I won't eat you or others EVER." Wally nodded his head as he finally calmed down.

Anne then looks up at the sky, it seems the sun is starting to set as the sky has turned into a mixture of blue and orange in color. She suddenly remembered Sprig

"Oh my gosh, I forgot we should find Sprig!" shouted Anne out of her realization.

"Oh my frogs, I forgot too! Let's go quickly!"

And there the two friends made their way to Felicia's Tea Shoppe hurriedly before they lose Sprig again.

...

_Wally admitted he hasn't felt this comfortable with someone in a long time. He never cared about anyone or anything ever since_ _he left his family behind._

_Anne was his only exception, being a creature from another world and one of the only humans to ever exist in Amphibia. Despite that, she managed to win his heart to start CARING about someone AGAIN._

_Sure their relationship, in the beginning, was harsh and terrible but they've managed to befriend each other and have grown to be the best of friends._

_He smiled, glancing at Anne again, he's glad that he has someone again that cares about him as if he has a family again, and he won't ever let anyone take that away from him. EVER._

* * *

Meanwhile, At The Plantar's Residence

A happy Sprig ran down all the way to the Plantar's residence from Felicia's shop. He then slammed the door open to his house loudly which accidentally made a vase fell to the ground and broken to pieces, "I'M HOME, HOP POP!" shouted Sprig, which startled Hop Pop and Polly who were napping at the couch.

"OH, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, SPRIG, how many times have I told you to open the door gently and not yell! Do you really want to dig a grave for me already?" yelled Hop Pop angrily from the sofa.

"You. Just. RUINED MY FREAKING SLEEP!" shouted Polly following Hop Pop.

"Jeez, sorry.. I didn't know you guys were sleeping. I was just happy to be home."

"That's no excuse to almost give me a heart attack, DON'T ever do that again, boy," warned Hop Pop sternly.

"Yes, Hop Pop. I'm sorry."

Hop Pop gave Sprig one last glare before moving on, "anyway, how was your at the stand, boy? Did you get in any trouble?"

Sprig suddenly light up again, "nope! Not at all! Me and Anne sold ALL of the veggies today take a look!"

Sprig tossed 5 money bags onto the table in front of Hop Pop, which made Hop Pop and Polly gasped. He then opened all of them and was squealing with joy when he saw the

"Wow, Sprig! How did you pull this off? I'm amazed you and Anne managed to earn this much while I'm not around!"

Sprig accepted the compliment with a proud grin as Hop Pop went to count the money. There were a total of 750 coppers in the bag, a new record.

"This is definitely more than how much we usually earn, and definitely more than enough to buy stuff for our daily needs," exclaimed Hop Pop with a laugh, "I could also get some medicines for my sickness with this too tomorrow. I'm proud of you, boy. Whatever you two did, I guess I should trust you two more with the stand."

"Maybe..?" said Sprig with a mixture of both glad and frustration because it means that Hop Pop will make them work at the stand more than before.

"By the way, where's Anne?" asked Polly as she just noticed her absence in the house, which confused Sprig.

"Oh? she's not home yet? I thought she went home or something."

"Haven't seen that door opening before you came, Sprig," said Hop Pop.

"She said she was going to get some fresh air but I didn't know where'd she go afterward, I tried looking for her just now but I can't find her anywhere."

Hop Pop sighed, "Well, we'll just ask her that after she comes back. I'm sure she'll return soon, but if she doesn't then we better look for her in case she got in trouble."

Sprig hummed in response, he was about to walk up the stairs before Hop Pop stopped him, "Hey, boy, you hungry? Polly helped making some stew for me earlier, it's really good."

Sprig glanced at Polly and saw that she's grinning wickedly, which is obviously a bad sign. Sprig then shook his head, "I think I'll pass... I've already eaten Felicia's scones at her shop before I got here, I'll probably eat again in the morning."

"Wait, why were you in Felicia's place?"

"Well, I accidentally bumped against her this afternoon. She needed help running the store because Ivy isn't there to help her. So I closed the stand to help her."

"YOU DITCHED OUR STAND?!" asked Hop Pop, a bit furious.

"No, no! Felicia bought all our vegetables so that I can help her! Her tea shop is PACKED as well today!"

"Ah, I see..."

Sprig suddenly remembers something that was making him happy in the first place, "Speaking of Felicia, Hop Pop, can I go out with Ivy tomorrow?"

"Eh? What for?" asked Hop Pop.

"Well, Felicia said she ran out of dung beetles to make her scones and she asked me if I could her some more in the woods with Ivy,"

"Will you two be alright? You two are still kids and the woods are really dangerous," said Hop Pop, hesitatingly.

"Ivy and I can handle things, Hop Pop! We are sparring buddies! We can face dangers head-on and make it out alive!"

"Well... since you two are also a couple now... I don't see why not,"

"THANK YOU, THANK YOU, HOP POP!" thanked Sprig as he suddenly wrapped his arms around Hop Pop and kissed his face repeatedly before realizing that he forgot Hop Pop was sick. He then retracted himself from Hop Pop reflexively and cleaned his lips, "uh.. Hop Pop, you're still sick?

"No, I actually feel much better than I was in the morning," told Hop Pop.

"Oh thank goodness," Sprig breathed a sigh of relief before hopping to the stairs and to his room, "well Imma head to bed now because today is soo tiring, bye Hop Pop and Polly!"

"Goodnight, boy."

"Bye, bro."

**To be continued..**


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M REALLY SORRY I HAVE NOT UPLOADED NEW CHAPTERS IN SO LONG, I SWEAR I'M TRYING TO KEEP UP BUT MY MIND HAS BEEN BLANK BUT HERE IT IS FINALLY.
> 
> This chapter contains lots of angst...
> 
> ...and hugs I guess
> 
> Also note: After seeing the new Wally's episode "Swamp and Sensibilities", I decided to change the narrative of this story a little bit and edit some things from the previous chapters. I hope you guys will still enjoy my story!

Huff.. puff.. puff..

Wally and Anne were both sprinting as fast as they can until they finally reached in front of Felicia's Tea Shoppe. It wasn't a long run but they both still felt exhausted.

"Huff.. huff.. woo I sure hope... he's still here. All that running really exhaust me," said Anne, catching up her breath. Thankfully the cool breeze cools the sweat on her skin.

"I don't know, Anne. This place looks empty," said Wally pessimistically.

"Well, one way to find out," said Anne, giving a knock at the door.

...

There was no response inside except for a faint, distant sound of someone washing the dishes and humming. Anne gave a knock again, "hello, Felicia? Ivy? Are you there?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" said Felicia as she quickly walks towards the door. She unlocked the door and pulled it wide open to find Anne and Wally standing in front of her. Felicia wasn't quite happy to see Wally as she shot a cold glare at him before shifting her attention towards the human girl, "Anne! It's so great to see you again!"

"Hey, Mrs. Sundew, it's great to see you too!" replied Anne cheerfully.

"I hope you are doing better, my dear. What brings you here?"

"Oh! I just came here to ask Sprig if he wanna hang out with me and Wally."

Felicia shot another quick glare at Wally and then looked back at Anne, "Sprig? O-oh! Sprig's not here anymore, he just went home."

"Gosh darn it!" exclaimed Anne before looking at Wally and sighed, "well I guess I can meet him later then.."

"I suppose, but since you came all the way here, why not just come inside and have a chat with me for a little while? Maybe have some of my tea too."

Anne thought to herself for a few seconds and shrugged, "eh, sure, we got nothing to do right now anyway. Ooh, you got those dung beetle scones I like?" asked Anne, she's come to love Felicia's dung beetle scones despite being disgusted by it in the beginning.

Felicia shook her head, "Unfortunately no, I ran out of dung beetles but Sprig's going to find me some more dung beetles tomorrow morning with Ivy. I promise I will bake you some scones if you come back here by then, is that okay?"

Anne smirks wickedly after hearing that, she's going to have some fun teasing Sprig when she comes home later, "yeah, that's fine with me," said Anne with a snicker.

Felicia then moved aside to make way for Anne, "well, come in, dear! Make yourself at home." Anne nodded and beckoned Wally to follow her, however, Felicia stops him before he could even walk in.

"And who told you can just come in?!" snarled Felicia at the one-eyed frog, who froze in place as he was taken aback by Felicia's sudden outrage.

Anne instinctively turned around, "Woah, Felicia, what's wrong?"

Felicia turned at Anne, "Anne, do you not remember? He's dangerous! Remember he planted those boom-shrooms when we weren't looking and almost killed us all! No, I'm not letting this dangerous lunatic inside."

Wally shook his head, "Madam, It seems that you-"

"Shut up!" hissed Felicia, causing Wally to flinch.

Anne tightly clenches her fist as she was ready to snap at Felicia before Wally suddenly spoke up, "Anne, it's okay, I guess I shouldn't be here."

Anne was about to protest before Felicia cut her off, "Now listen here, you, don't EVER come near my shop or Anne ever again, you hear? Now get out of here!" Felicia pushed Wally out of her shop and slammed the door very hard.

 **OUCH**!

Wally's bulging left toe was still between the door when she slammed the door and it caused him to yelp painfully as he dropped on the ground, inhaling and exhaling sharply through his teeth as he tries to bear the overwhelming pain on his toe.

* * *

After Felicia slammed the door at him, Anne's rage continues to boil, "what the heck is wrong with you?! Why did you have to be so rude to him?! He doesn't deserve to get treated like that!"

"Why do you care, Anne? He doesn't even care about our safety!" said Felicia as she walked towards the table near Anne and took a seat, "I'm pretty sure the reason he blew up the tower is so that he could use it as a chapter for one of his absurd tales!"

"That's not true and you're just being unreasonable! Wally's not dangerous, he's kind and considerate! He even saved my life when we were hunting for the Mossman!" responded Anne defensively.

Felicia shook her head, "just look at yourself, Anne, you're becoming just like him! Open your eyes! I'm telling you to stay away from him because he's a bad influence for you!"

 **"HE'S. NOT!"** snapped Anne at last, slamming the table as hard as she can with both of her fists, her voice echoed throughout the room. She immediately gasped regretfully as she saw a shocked Felicia. Anne sighed as she sits down at the same table as Felicia, "I'm sorry I snapped at you like that, Felicia, it's just that I hated how you talk about my friend like that."

"I just don't understand you, Anne... Why would you defend someone like him? Since when you two were even friends?"

"He's not who you think he is. I've befriended Wally long before the tower incident. He's a good person, he just doesn't care what people think of him but that doesn't make him a dangerous person. And although this all happened because of a misunderstanding, all I know is that he did help saving Hop Pop from almost being executed" Anne's voice started becoming shaky, "without him Hop Pop wouldn't have... survived,"

Anne then laid her head on her palms frustratingly. The traumatizing memories swarmed her head again, she really wants to stop thinking about the incident because it always reminds her of her old friend, Sasha as well.

Felicia pondered to herself, thinking about what Anne said. It makes sense, even though Wally's way of helping them to escape wasn't the safest way there is, at least they all made it out alive in the end.

Felicia then slid her chair closer to Anne and held her shoulder, "You're right, Anne, I shouldn't have been so harsh to him. I guess I was just afraid he would do something as dangerous as that again that almost killed all of us but I guess I've gone too far with my attitude. I'm really sorry."

Anne lifted her face from her palm and illuminated a warm smile, "I-it's alright, Felicia, I know you're just shocked by what happened. I am too actually."

"I just hope Wally would forgive me."

"I'm sure he will."

"Do... do you still want some tea?"

"That'd be great right now."

* * *

Wally has been sitting beside the front door, trying to relieve the pain of the door slam on his toe but to no avail. He sighed deeply. Wally has been hearing Anne and Felicia's argument from outside and he blamed himself for being the reason the two argued, though he couldn't make out most of the arguments, he couldn't help but feel guilty about it.

Felicia's hostility towards him earlier was not a big surprise for him. Ever since the toad tower incident, some frogs of Wartwood have been keeping their distance from him. In fact, he couldn't even go anywhere without some frogs trying to avoid him. No one is bold enough to be around him now because who would wanna be with someone who might have explosives on them?

Wally tried hard to ignore this bothering feeling but he does miss having people to interact with, even if those people treat him like trash.

Wally then decided to take out the accordion that he has played over a billion times throughout his life. Whenever he feels stressed out he would play music to make his stress and worries seem not like a big deal. However, as he was about to start playing the first note of his song, a little, yellow frog was hopping towards Wally's direction. The young frog turns out to be Ivy heading home with a bag of berries that she collected in the woods for her mother. Ivy was puzzled when she saw Wally in her front door.

"Wally?" said the young frog.

"Oh, h-hey kid," said Wally as he put away his accordion.

"What are you doing here all alone in front of my home?"

"I- I'm not actually alone, Anne's inside with your mother."

"Oh, so then why didn't you come with her inside?"

Wally did not respond to that question, which puzzled Ivy more. However, after scanning Wally's facial expression and find his swelling foot, Ivy might've figured out why.

Ivy then took out a small bottle from her front pocket and sat in front of Wally.

"What are you doing?" asked Wally timidly.

"Relax, I'm just gonna apply this on your toe if you don't mind."

Ivy opened the bottle, it turns out to be some sort of balm with an unpleasantly strong smell. Ivy then pulled Wally's torn shoe and took some of the balms with her finger. She then applied it on Wally's swelling toe while massaging it gently.

Wally inhaled sharply through his teeth as he was trying to hold in the pain from the massage, "ow ow OW OW OW!"

"Stop moving your foot so much, will ya? This will just take a while."

After nearly a minute, Ivy finished applying the balm on his toe and puts it back inside her pocket and wiped away the remaining balm on her hand. Just like magic, Wally can freely move his toes around without feeling any pain.

"Holy frog almighty, this is witchcraft! How did you manage to fix my toe?" exclaimed Wally as he wriggled his toe.

"I used a special balm given to me by my mom. It numbs the pain and will cure your swelling in no time. It was given to me because I often injure myself playing in the woods. I'm such a wild child, eh?" said Ivy with a wink?

"You sure got spunk, kid, heh. But thank you you helping my poor little toe."

"Not a problem, dude," Ivy then reached out for her bag of berries and opened it, "hey, do you want some of my berries? Don't worry they're edible and I still got plenty left," offered Ivy as she handed some berries to Wally.

Wally nodded and took few berries from her, he ate all of them at once, "this is good, thanks again, kid."

Ivy hummed in response and ate some of the berries herself. She then closed the bag and puts it on her side, "so... I'm guessing this all was because of my mom,"

Wally nodded, "mhm."

"What business do you and Anne have here anyway?"

"We just came here to find Sprig that's all, he left a letter for us and said he went here."

"SPRIG WAS HERE?" said Ivy, accidentally raising her voice, she then instinctively covered her mouth.

"Yeah, why?" Wally was oblivious of Ivy and Sprig's relationship.

"Oh, Uhm... nothing!" replied Ivy nervously as she dodged the question, "s-so what happens next?"

"After finding out Sprig's not here, your mother offered Anne to come inside for some tea and have some chit-chat, but then she refused to let me in, she then pushed me out and slammed the door on me while my toe was still in between."

"But why?"

"She said I was too dangerous to be around them. She recalled back to the time when I blew up the tower with the boom-shrooms I brought. I swear I wouldn't have planted them if I had known Anne objected that idea but it's already too late to keep complaining about it, it already happened and everyone's avoiding me now because of it. It's like I'm becoming the monster of my own tales!" said Wally before giving a sad sigh, "even though Anne told me that I don't have to worry about it, I still feel guilty. I've put everyone's lives in danger and I made her lose her human friend again after reuniting with her after so long... and it's all my fault."

Ivy sat there listening to his talk, it amazed her how the town loon could feel such remorse and guilt for his actions. Maybe he's not as insane as what her mother told her about him, he's just weird and misunderstood but he still genuinely cares about other people. He just wanted to help.

"Ah- sorry, I shouldn't have let it out on you, kid. I just don't have anyone else to talk to about this right now besides you-"

"I understand."

'"What?"

"I understand, Wally." said Ivy, "honestly I wouldn't call you dangerous for trying to help us escape from the tower. You also seem to care about Anne as much as the Plantars! There is no way you are a bad person and I can totally understand why Anne trusts you. You totally destroyed the tower and I'm sure the toads won't be coming back anytime soon!"

Wally was touched to find someone else that trusts him too, he gave out a big smile, "that really means a lot to me, kid. Thank you."

Ivy nodded with a cheerful smile.

"Uh, off-topic but I forgot your name. Was it Ivory? or Iris?"

Ivy snickered and gave Wally a playful punch, "It's Ivy, doofus, I know your name but how come you don't even know mine?

"Sorry, I only remember it vaguely since we never really talked or interacted with each other before."

"That's true. Well, it's great to finally _be able to_ talk to you, Wally," Ivy lent her hand to Wally, in which he gladly accepted.

"Likewise."

"I must say you're not as weird as what my mom and everybody in this town told me about you. You're actually pretty cool! I wonder why people called you the town weirdo."

"Thank you, kid, though I don't really plan on changing that anytime soon."

They both laughed briefly before sighing together.

_It does feel great to have another friend._

"Okay, that's enough chit-chat. Let's go inside," said Ivy as she stands up, wiping off the ground dust from her overall.

Wally's facial expression suddenly changes, "w-what? Kid! Anne and your mother are arguing because of ME, she'd kill me if she sees me again! I don't wanna risk getting slammed on the door twice... or worse!"

"Chill, Wally, I promise you won't have a single scratch once we settle things out together."

"I- I don't know if this is a good idea, kid.," said Wally, still doubtful.

"Ah, come on, dude! Man up!" Ivy before forcefully jerking Wally's arms towards her as they both stand up. Wally was whimpering and trembling as Ivy knocked on the door, "mom, I'm home!"

The door seems to be unlocked as Ivy can push it open, revealing Felicia and Anne at the table. They seemed to be laughing and talking amongst themselves, however as they see both Ivy and Wally at the door, Felicia and Anne immediately stopped their conversation. Felicia then looked at Anne, who seems to be gesturing her to do something.

Felicia took a deep breath before standing up and walked towards Wally. Wally took a few steps back as he was ready to bolt out of the spot, only for Ivy to grab his arm to stop him from fleeing out of the house.

"Step aside, Ivy," said Felicia.

"Mom, listen to me-"

"Ivy," said Felicia sternly, "I need to talk to Wally,"

"If you are just gonna hurt his feelings again then I'm not going to let you!" defended Ivy.

"I am not going to! Just let me talk with him, please!" begged Felicia to her daughter.

Wally is honestly surprised Ivy was willing to try protecting him from her own mother. However, afraid of going against her mother's command any further, she released her hold of Wally and moved away to give them space to talk, giving an apologetic look at him while Anne was watching them closely from behind. To Wally's surprise, there was no sign of anger or disgust on Felicia's face, only a sincere apologetic look.

"Wally, I'm sorry," said Felicia after sighing.

Wally froze in spot, even Ivy was surprised.

"What are you sorry for?" asked Wally, who seems to tremble less.

"I'm sorry for misjudging you earlier, I had no rights calling you dangerous and then throw you out like that, I'm terribly sorry." apologized Felicia as she looked on the floor and back at Wally, "I was just afraid that you would put our lives in danger again but after Anne talked to me about it I realized how foolish and cruel I acted towards you."

Wally was unable to say anything for a moment, his eyes then darted towards Anne who gave him a thumbs-up and a smile. He then looks back at Felicia with a slight nod.

"I.. it's okay, Mrs. Sundew. I've put you and everyone's lives in danger, I can understand why you were angry at me."

"Well, you did help us escape from being prisoners, so I should be thankful for that. Just please don't do something as dangerous as that again... do you promise?" said Felicia as she lends her hand towards Wally.

"I won't, I promise," said Wally as he took her hand and gently shake them, fixing their friendship. Anne and Ivy smiled at each other watching this heartwarming moment.

"Well then, how about you sit with us and have some tea? I'll fetch more teacups."

"Uh... you don't have to do that."

"It's on the house, Wally, take a seat!" said Felicia as she fetches another small teacup in the kitchen. Wally then walked towards the chair beside Anne while Ivy sat on the other side.

Anne suddenly felt a cold grip around her hand, she looked down to find Wally's hand holding hers. Wally looks at Anne with a look which Anne assumes meant "Thanks". Anne smiled back at him.

Felicia is back with 2 teacups and placed them in front of Wally and Ivy respectively. She then poured a warm tea on each of their cups. Wally has never drunk Felicia's tea before since he doesn't usually go to her tea shop that often, so after he took a sip from the cup it immediately puts him at ease.

"This is really, really good," said Wally.

"Why thank you," thanked Felicia.

"I never actually tried your tea before but this is simply the best tea I've ever tasted! No wonder why this place is always packed." complimented Wally before finishing the rest of the tea content.

Felicia giggled, "I'm glad you liked it." Felicia then turns towards her daughter who is also drinking her tea.

"So, Ivy, have you found the berries I asked you?"

"Sure did, mom! Got 'em right here!" said Ivy, handing her the bag of berries.

"Thank you, Ivy-" as Felicia opened the bag, it turns out there were not many left inside "Ivy, did you eat the berries?"

"Uh.. some, hehe," said Ivy, nervously laughing while Wally nervously slid down in his chair

Felicia groaned, "Ivy, you know these berries aren't meant to be eaten, I need them for my scones! These aren't enough!"

"Sorry, mom."

"Well, no need to apologize because you and Sprig are gonna help me get some more tomorrow."

Ivy's face suddenly turns red again, "WHAT?"

"I ran out of dung beetles as well for my scones so I want you and Sprig to help me find some dung beetles AND also the berries you've eaten first thing in the morning, is that clear? My customers won't be too happy if they found out I ran out of scones."

Anne was secretly giggling throughout their conversation seeing Ivy's face get redder and redder while Wally is just sitting there confused.

"C-can't I just do it myself? Why do I have to be with him?"

"You two make a great team! Besides didn't you tell me you two are a thing now? Aren't you supposed to be together more often?"

"MOM!" Ivy buried her face on her hat.

Wally was surprised to hear this and can't help but let out a chuckle

"Well, if you don't want to then I guess I'll tell Sprig that-"

"NO! I mean... FINE! I'll go with him!" said Ivy begrudgingly before pouting and leaning back on her chair angrily. Wally, Felicia, and Anne all shared laughter.

* * *

After talking and chatting with each other for hours, Anne looked at the window to find out it's already dark. It's about time she goes home now.

"Well I guess we'll get going," announced Anne, as she stands up preparing to leave, Wally then follows afterward.

"Already?" asked Felicia.

"Yeah, I don't wanna go home too late or Hop Pop might make me do extra chores," said Anne as she pushes the chair back to the table.

"Ah, I see, well, in that case, thank you for coming Anne, you too, Wally." said Felicia as she stands up as well, "once again, I'm sorry for earlier."

"It's okay, Mrs. Sundew. I hope to see you around," said Wally with a warm smile, he then turns Ivy and approached her.

"Hey, thanks, kid. Y'know, for helping me out too. Let's hang out again sometime," said Wally, offering a fist-bump

"of course!" said Ivy, returning the fist-bump, "see you around!"

Wally and Anne then walked out of Felicia's tea shop and waved goodbye to Felicia and Ivy, "Welp, we're off now, bye!" said Anne, waving at them.

"See you two later!"

* * *

The sun has set and the night air is getting colder as the two friends are finally alone again in the dark street of Wartwood.

"Well today really was something," said Wally.

"Are you alright?" asked Anne.

"Why'd you ask?"

"Are you still upset because of what Felicia said to you?"

"Well... I'm still pretty shocked myself but we already reconciled so that's all there's to it. There's no need to worry more about that,"

"I guess,"

"But for real... thanks for making me and Felicia made up, Anne. I didn't know what you told her but whatever it is, I really appreciate your help."

"That's what friends are for, buddy," replied Anne.

Wally nodded, "well anyway, let's get you home," said Wally as he started walking.

"Wait, I should be the one getting you home!" protested Anne.

"No, Anne. You did so much for me today. You accompanied me for almost a whole day, I have to return the favor by at least walking you home."

"But your house is quite far from here! If you go back on your own who knows what would happen to you?! You would get eaten by giant bugs... or worse!" said Anne, anxiously.

Wally stopped walking and turned around to face Anne, "Anne, don't forget that I'm this town's vagrant. Even though I have a squalor home, I could sleep everywhere I want, even on this ground we are stepping on right now. I'm already used to this life because this whole place is also my home! And besides, we always run into danger but we still manage to continue living today, so why fret?"

Anne sighed, "I- I just want you to know that you're gonna be safe. I don't want you to get hurt or something..." said Anne as she sat on the ground looking down

Wally then looked at Anne's face with a warm smile and wrapped his arms around her legs, "oh, Anne, you're still worried about me, aren't you?"

Anne lowered herself to hug him back gently, "ever since I lost Sasha, I've been really worried a lot of things, including afraid of losing the people I care about..."

"Love, I promised you, didn't I? That I will always be here for you," comforted Wally while patting her back, he then wiped the tears on Anne's cheek, "I know I can't replace your human friend, but just know you are not alone in this, okay? You don't have to be afraid of losing me because you are not going to."

Anne nodded, _"Thank you so much."_ whispered Anne, "honestly, I don't know how I could survive here all alone without you guys. I really didn't regret being transported here."

"And we didn't regret calling you our own, Love."

Anne feels genuinely glad she has such great friends here. Dare she says better friends than Sasha..? She definitely belongs here with her surrogate frog family and friends.

"Hey, Wally?"

"Yes, Anne?"

"Do you wanna know something cool?"

"What is it?"

Anne moves closer to his ear and whispered something that made Wally froze.

_"I love you, dude."_

After hearing that Wally broke in tears. Never ever in his life, he's heard anyone would ever say it to him, not even his family he's left behind. He's never expected that a girl from another world would be the first person to ever say those sincere words to him.

 _"I love you too, Anne, I really do,"_ whispered Wally back while hugging her tighter. Anne in return pats his back to comfort him, she's never seen someone like Wally would get very emotional but Anne didn't complain.

After a while, Wally's tears subsided and both of them feel their hearts at ease and warm. The bond they formed has never been greater since the first time they met.

Wally releases his hold of Anne gently and wiped his tear in his eye, "sorry, that's uncharacteristic of me to cry out like that. I usually never cry like this to anyone before,"

"It's totally okay, Wally. I got you."

Wally smiled warmly at Anne and caressed her cheek, "thanks a million, Anne. You've really made my life brighter and more meaningful and.. I'm really glad you came along."

"Me too," said Anne, smiling back.

After the emotional moments have passed, they both stood up from the ground.

"Okay, let's get you home for real," said Wally

"But..."

"I'll be okay, Love," Wally reached out to hold her hand. Anne nodded in response, they both then walked towards the Plantars' home hand in hand.

* * *

Anne and Wally finally reached the Plantars' home, the lights from the inside seem to be already dimmed, which could only mean the Plantars have all fallen asleep. Anne could only hope that the door is unlocked.

"Well, here we are," announced Wally as they stand in front of the door.

"Thanks for dropping me off, Wally." replied Anne, "it's been a blast hanging out with you today, Wally."

"Not a problem, Anne. I just hope I'm not causing any troubles between you and the Plantars if they found out you went home pretty late.

"Nah, I'm sure they'll understand. Well, I guess... I'll see you tomorrow then

"Of course, love, anytime.

Anne then opened the door to her house, which turns out to be oddly unlocked.

"Good night, Wally, love ya dude," said Anne, waving at him before closing the door behind her.

Wally tipped his hat in response, "Love ya too, Anne, sleep well tonight."

...

After saying their goodnights, Wally let out a sigh and a small smile.

 _"Such a good kid, she went through a lot for such a young girl but I'm really proud of her for being this strong, perhaps even stronger than I could ever be.."_ thought Wally to himself before hopping away from the Plantars' home to wherever his heart wants him to be while playing his accordion to the beautiful night sky.

* * *

Anne glanced around the dark room, with all the lights dimmed, Anne assumes that Sprig and her other family members are asleep by now.

_Dang it, I can't tease Sprig now 'cuz he's asleep._

Anne tiptoed her way into her room to not make any noises that could wake up the Plantars. Just as she was about to open her room's door, the lights suddenly turned on. She turned around to see her surrogate grandfather sitting at the couch; still with his normal clothing, glaring at her. Hop Pop is clearly disappointed in Anne.

"Uhh, hey HP..." said Anne awkwardly. She's ready to get reprimanded by Hop Pop.

"ANNE! Where have you been all day?! I have been waiting on this couch all day waiting for you to come home!"

"I'm sorry, HP, I was just hanging around the town all day."

"You should've at least told Sprig where you went before leaving him to do the job all alone!"

"I was going to but he said he's already gone to Felicia's place! Then when I showed up there, Felicia said he already went home!"

"But that's a few hours ago! What took you so long just to find him?"

"I was with Wally, okay? We were-"

"You were with WHO?!"

Anne had completely forgotten that Hop Pop; just like Felicia, doesn't like the idea of Wally being around Anne since the tower incident. It just seems like everyone despises Wally at this point.

Anne groaned and rolled her eyes _._

_Not this again._

"ANNE, you shouldn't be around Wally because he's-"

"DANGEROUS. I KNOW." cut Anne, angrily, "everyone has been saying that to me."

"That is because it's true! Why did you still hang around him then?"

"I did because I want to prove them WRONG, okay? He's not dangerous or bad in any way! Don't forget who saved your life, HP! It was him! You would have been executed if he didn't blow up the tower!"

"But we would've been crushed to death by the debris because of the boom-shrooms too, Anne! You also lost your human friend because of him, he's a vicious loon I'm telling ya!"

"No, it's not his fault! Sasha realizes her own mistakes after I stood up against her and let go of me! Stop blaming Wally for everything, he's not what you think he is!"

"Anne, if you're not gonna listen to me then I'm afraid I'm going to have to ban you from seeing Wally starting tomorrow! It's for your own safety!" said Hop Pop sternly.

Anne gasped in shock, Hop Pop has always been strict to her and she's fine with that. But banning her to see her own best friend?

"You know what? Maybe I was right not to talk about my problems to you," said Anne with sorrow in her voice.

Realizing how harsh he might've been to Anne, Hop Pop immediately regretted what he said.

"A-Anne, I-"

Anne let out few tears to drop and clenched her fists, "Wally told me I should've talked to you when I felt troubled, he said I should've spoken to you about HOW miserable I felt after I lost Sasha. I kept it to myself but Wally told me I should've opened up to you! But now... I feel you're just making it worse." said Anne before bolting into her basement room, crying.

"Kiddo, wait!"

Anne locked her trapdoor before Hop Pop could stop her. She sat on the staircase hugging her knees and bawled her eyes out.

 _"First, I lost my best friend from home and now my own grandfather wants to ban me from seeing the friend who's helped me to become a better person,"_ said Anne to herself in her tears. Meanwhile, Hop Pop repeatedly knocked on the door, begging her to let him in.

"Kiddo, please open the door, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you upset!" cried Hop Pop.

"Go away! You obviously don't care about me!"

"Please, kiddo! I was just saying that to protect you!"

"You're protecting me from NOTHING. You don't know the first thing about Wally. He's helped me as much as how you guys would, and now you're just banning me from seeing him! In the end, you're not any better than him, Hop Pop!"

Hop Pop stops knocking at the door after hearing Anne's response and sat on the floor to stare at the floor.

"I know I'm not, Anne..."

Anne perked up her head.

"I'm not any better than anyone, I've always been just a sad, lonely old frog who worries too much..."

Anne turns her head around to look at the door she locked.

"I always make decisions without thinking about how it would affect my family..." Hop Pop's tears fell down his face as he sniffled his runny nose, "I'm not a good grandparent, Anne. I've always tried to protect my family, thinking I know what's best for them but then I hurt them in the end, just like what I did to you... I'm really sorry, kiddo."

Anne quickly unlocks her room's door and rushed out of her room to tackle Hop Pop in her embrace. She hugged her frog grandfather tightly in her arms and they both cried on each other's shoulders.

"Don't say that HP... you are a great grandfather to me. You sheltered me in your home from the first day I came here and always take care of me ever since. It's because of you, Sprig and Polly who took me in that I still survive here..." said Anne.

"Kiddo..."

"...I really shouldn't have said all that to you, I'm really sorry..."

"No, Anne, it's okay. I was wrong for banning you from seeing Wally because I feel you two must've had a special bond that I'm unaware of and... I was wrong for not understanding that."

"It's okay, HP. I know Wally can be a bit weird but he's like a part of my family to me, just like you guys..."

"I see now... I'll let you two hang out another day if that makes you happy, kiddo, and I promise that I will try my best to be there for you when you feel troubled. I know I can be incredibly strict and stern with you but I still care about your well-being. I was worried sick when you hid in the basement every day after you lost your friend."

Anne smiled, "thanks for worrying about me, you're the best, Hop Pop," she hugged her grandfather again.

Hop Pop then looks at the clock, the clock shows that it's almost midnight. Both of them had to let go of their embrace.

"Well, kiddo, I think we should head to bed now, it's getting late" announced Hop Pop as he was ready to go back to his room before Anne stopped him.

"Uh, Hop Pop?" called Anne.

"Yes, Anne?"

"Could you maybe uh... come sleep with me tonight..? I really need some company today...

Hop Pop smiled and gladly nodded, "not a problem, kiddo."

* * *

**A few moments late** **r**

Polly yawned loudly as she woke up from her sleep to go to the bathroom downstair. As she was about to enter the bathroom, she noticed Hop Pop's room is not fully closed and Hop Pop doesn't seem to be sleeping there. She glanced around the living room to not find anyone there as well.

Almost panicking because Hop Pop is missing, Polly finally heard some snoring coming out from Anne's room. She then went to investigate Anne's room by opening the basement door.

_Zzz..._

_Zzz..._

Polly found her grandfather sleeping with Anne, who seems to be cuddling him in her sleep. They both have smiles on their faces and Polly can't help but awe at that heartwarming sight.

"Aww, look at those two..." said Polly to herself before she cringes, "ugh, too much affection," said Polly before closing the trapdoor and continued her journey into the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, this chapter is a hell of an emotional roller coaster, sorry if there are so many hugs and angst.
> 
> Also sorry if I made Hop Pop sound a bit too strict here, we all know he's just a strict and grumpy grandpa but we still love him nevertheless because of his neverending love for his family.
> 
> To be continued...
> 
> • Feedbacks are appreciated!  
> • Keep an eye out for the next chapter!


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